diff --git a/components/ItemGrid/GridItem.bs b/components/ItemGrid/GridItem.bs
index 0015a8ea5..fc34ada2f 100644
--- a/components/ItemGrid/GridItem.bs
+++ b/components/ItemGrid/GridItem.bs
@@ -37,7 +37,11 @@ sub itemContentChanged()
 
     ' Set Random background colors from pallet
     posterBackgrounds = m.global.constants.poster_bg_pallet
-    m.backdrop.blendColor = posterBackgrounds[rnd(posterBackgrounds.count()) - 1]
+    if isValidAndNotEmpty(m.top.itemContent.posterBlurhashUrl):
+        m.backdrop.uri = m.top.itemContent.posterBlurhashUrl
+    else
+        m.backdrop.blendColor = posterBackgrounds[rnd(posterBackgrounds.count()) - 1]
+    end if
 
     itemData = m.top.itemContent
 
diff --git a/components/ItemGrid/GridItemSmall.bs b/components/ItemGrid/GridItemSmall.bs
index 606f04462..c57bd4e97 100644
--- a/components/ItemGrid/GridItemSmall.bs
+++ b/components/ItemGrid/GridItemSmall.bs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import "pkg:/source/utils/misc.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/utils/config.bs"
+import "pkg:/source/utils/fakeBlurhash.bs"
 
 sub init()
     m.itemPoster = m.top.findNode("itemPoster")
@@ -23,7 +24,11 @@ sub init()
 end sub
 
 sub itemContentChanged()
-    m.backdrop.blendColor = "#101010"
+    if isValidAndNotEmpty(m.top.itemContent.posterBlurhashUrl):
+        m.backdrop.uri = m.top.itemContent.posterBlurhashUrl
+    else
+        m.backdrop.blendColor = "#101010"
+    end if
 
     m.title.visible = false
 
diff --git a/components/data/ChannelData.bs b/components/data/ChannelData.bs
index ff4ec8189..20cc83d92 100644
--- a/components/data/ChannelData.bs
+++ b/components/data/ChannelData.bs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import "pkg:/source/api/Image.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/api/baserequest.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/utils/config.bs"
+import "pkg:/source/utils/fakeBlurhash.bs"
 
 sub setFields()
     json = m.top.json
@@ -20,5 +21,13 @@ sub setPoster()
 
         imgParams = { "maxHeight": 440, "maxWidth": 295, "Tag": m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary }
         m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Primary", imgParams)
+        if isValidAndNotEmpty(m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary)
+            blurhash = m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary[m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary]
+            if get_user_setting("ui.design.renderblurhashes") = "true" and isValidAndNotEmpty(blurhash)
+                timer = CreateObject("roTimeSpan")
+                m.top.posterBlurHashUrl = renderFakeBlurhash(blurhash, imgParams.maxWidth, imgParams.maxHeight)
+                print "Took " + Str(timer.totalMilliseconds()) + " milliseconds to render a blurhash in ChannelData."
+            end if
+        end if
     end if
 end sub
diff --git a/components/data/CollectionData.bs b/components/data/CollectionData.bs
index 4cce7d183..f6fadd3bc 100644
--- a/components/data/CollectionData.bs
+++ b/components/data/CollectionData.bs
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 import "pkg:/source/api/Image.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/api/baserequest.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/utils/config.bs"
+import "pkg:/source/utils/fakeBlurhash.bs"
+
 
 sub setFields()
     json = m.top.json
@@ -24,6 +26,14 @@ sub setPoster()
         if m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary <> invalid
             imgParams = { "maxHeight": 440, "maxWidth": 295, "Tag": m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary }
             m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Primary", imgParams)
+            if isValidAndNotEmpty(m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary)
+                blurhash = m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary[m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary]
+                if get_user_setting("ui.design.renderblurhashes") = "true" and isValidAndNotEmpty(blurhash)
+                    timer = CreateObject("roTimeSpan")
+                    m.top.posterBlurHashUrl = renderFakeBlurhash(blurhash, imgParams.maxWidth, imgParams.maxHeight)
+                    print "Took " + Str(timer.totalMilliseconds()) + " milliseconds to render a blurhash in CollectionData."
+                end if
+            end if
         else if m.top.json.BackdropImageTags <> invalid
             imgParams = { "maxHeight": 440, "Tag": m.top.json.BackdropImageTags[0] }
             m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Backdrop", imgParams)
diff --git a/components/data/FolderData.bs b/components/data/FolderData.bs
index 7e6da642e..435d79a20 100644
--- a/components/data/FolderData.bs
+++ b/components/data/FolderData.bs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import "pkg:/source/api/Image.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/api/baserequest.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/utils/config.bs"
+import "pkg:/source/utils/fakeBlurhash.bs"
 
 sub setFields()
     json = m.top.json
@@ -27,6 +28,14 @@ sub setPoster()
     else if m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary <> invalid
         imgParams = { "maxHeight": 440, "maxWidth": 295, "Tag": m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary }
         m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Primary", imgParams)
+        if isValidAndNotEmpty(m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary)
+            blurhash = m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary[m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary]
+            if get_user_setting("ui.design.renderblurhashes") = "true" and isValidAndNotEmpty(blurhash)
+                timer = CreateObject("roTimeSpan")
+                m.top.posterBlurHashUrl = renderFakeBlurhash(blurhash, imgParams.maxWidth, imgParams.maxHeight)
+                print "Took " + Str(timer.totalMilliseconds()) + " milliseconds to render a blurhash in FolderData."
+            end if
+        end if
     end if
 end sub
 
diff --git a/components/data/JFContentItem.xml b/components/data/JFContentItem.xml
index 6d4d177e9..73bbc224a 100644
--- a/components/data/JFContentItem.xml
+++ b/components/data/JFContentItem.xml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
         <field id="favorite" type="boolean" />
         <field id="watched" type="boolean" />
         <field id="posterUrl" type="string" />
+        <field id="posterBlurhashUrl" type="string" />
         <field id="backdropUrl" type="string" />
         <field id="SubTitle" type="string" value="" />
         <field id="iconUrl" type="string" value="" />
diff --git a/components/data/MovieData.bs b/components/data/MovieData.bs
index cba66f815..9ac4b36f0 100644
--- a/components/data/MovieData.bs
+++ b/components/data/MovieData.bs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import "pkg:/source/api/Image.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/api/baserequest.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/utils/config.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/utils/misc.bs"
+import "pkg:/source/utils/fakeBlurhash.bs"
 
 sub setFields()
     json = m.top.json
@@ -47,6 +48,14 @@ sub setPoster()
             if isValid(m.top.json.ImageTags) and isValid(m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary)
                 imgParams = { "maxHeight": 440, "maxWidth": 295, "Tag": m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary }
                 m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Primary", imgParams)
+                if isValidAndNotEmpty(m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary)
+                    blurhash = m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary[m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary]
+                    if get_user_setting("ui.design.renderblurhashes") = "true" and isValidAndNotEmpty(blurhash)
+                        timer = CreateObject("roTimeSpan")
+                        m.top.posterBlurHashUrl = renderFakeBlurhash(blurhash, imgParams.maxWidth, imgParams.maxHeight)
+                        print "Took " + Str(timer.totalMilliseconds()) + " milliseconds to render a blurhash in MoviesData."
+                    end if
+                end if
             else if isValid(m.top.json.BackdropImageTags) and isValid(m.top.json.BackdropImageTags[0])
                 imgParams = { "maxHeight": 440, "Tag": m.top.json.BackdropImageTags[0] }
                 m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Backdrop", imgParams)
diff --git a/components/data/MusicAlbumSongListData.bs b/components/data/MusicAlbumSongListData.bs
index 9583cdb4f..bac5faf39 100644
--- a/components/data/MusicAlbumSongListData.bs
+++ b/components/data/MusicAlbumSongListData.bs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import "pkg:/source/api/Image.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/api/baserequest.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/utils/config.bs"
+import "pkg:/source/utils/fakeBlurhash.bs"
 
 sub setFields()
     json = m.top.json
@@ -18,6 +19,14 @@ sub setPoster()
         if m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary <> invalid
             imgParams = { "maxHeight": 440, "maxWidth": 295 }
             m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Primary", imgParams)
+            if isValidAndNotEmpty(m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary)
+                blurhash = m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary[m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary]
+                if get_user_setting("ui.design.renderblurhashes") = "true" and isValidAndNotEmpty(blurhash)
+                    timer = CreateObject("roTimeSpan")
+                    m.top.posterBlurHashUrl = renderFakeBlurhash(blurhash, imgParams.maxWidth, imgParams.maxHeight)
+                    print "Took " + Str(timer.totalMilliseconds()) + " milliseconds to render a blurhash in MusicAlbumSongListData."
+                end if
+            end if
         else if m.top.json.BackdropImageTags[0] <> invalid
             imgParams = { "maxHeight": 440 }
             m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Backdrop", imgParams)
diff --git a/components/data/MusicArtistData.bs b/components/data/MusicArtistData.bs
index 6f36dc9b5..892bcf84b 100644
--- a/components/data/MusicArtistData.bs
+++ b/components/data/MusicArtistData.bs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import "pkg:/source/api/Image.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/api/baserequest.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/utils/config.bs"
+import "pkg:/source/utils/fakeBlurhash.bs"
 
 sub setFields()
     json = m.top.json
@@ -21,6 +22,14 @@ sub setPoster()
         if m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary <> invalid
             imgParams = { "maxHeight": 440, "maxWidth": 440 }
             m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Primary", imgParams)
+            if isValidAndNotEmpty(m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary)
+                blurhash = m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary[m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary]
+                if get_user_setting("ui.design.renderblurhashes") = "true" and isValidAndNotEmpty(blurhash)
+                    timer = CreateObject("roTimeSpan")
+                    m.top.posterBlurHashUrl = renderFakeBlurhash(blurhash, imgParams.maxWidth, imgParams.maxHeight)
+                    print "Took " + Str(timer.totalMilliseconds()) + " milliseconds to render a blurhash in MusicArtistData."
+                end if
+            end if
         else if m.top.json.BackdropImageTags[0] <> invalid
             imgParams = { "maxHeight": 440 }
             m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Backdrop", imgParams)
diff --git a/components/data/PersonData.bs b/components/data/PersonData.bs
index 71745b06f..06678fc64 100644
--- a/components/data/PersonData.bs
+++ b/components/data/PersonData.bs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import "pkg:/source/api/Image.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/api/baserequest.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/utils/config.bs"
+import "pkg:/source/utils/fakeBlurhash.bs"
 
 sub setFields()
     json = m.top.json
@@ -18,6 +19,14 @@ sub setPoster()
         if m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary <> invalid
             imgParams = { "maxHeight": 440, "maxWidth": 295, "Tag": m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary }
             m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Primary", imgParams)
+            if isValidAndNotEmpty(m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary)
+                blurhash = m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary[m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary]
+                if get_user_setting("ui.design.renderblurhashes") = "true" and isValidAndNotEmpty(blurhash)
+                    timer = CreateObject("roTimeSpan")
+                    m.top.posterBlurHashUrl = renderFakeBlurhash(blurhash, imgParams.maxWidth, imgParams.maxHeight)
+                    print "Took " + Str(timer.totalMilliseconds()) + " milliseconds to render a blurhash in PersonData."
+                end if
+            end if
         else if m.top.json.BackdropImageTags[0] <> invalid
             imgParams = { "maxHeight": 440, "Tag": m.top.json.BackdropImageTags[0] }
             m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Backdrop", imgParams)
diff --git a/components/data/PhotoData.bs b/components/data/PhotoData.bs
index 30443f3df..fe6fa977c 100644
--- a/components/data/PhotoData.bs
+++ b/components/data/PhotoData.bs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import "pkg:/source/api/Image.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/api/baserequest.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/utils/config.bs"
+import "pkg:/source/utils/fakeBlurhash.bs"
 
 sub setFields()
     json = m.top.json
@@ -20,6 +21,14 @@ sub setPoster()
         if m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary <> invalid
             imgParams = { "maxHeight": 440, "maxWidth": 295, "Tag": m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary }
             m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Primary", imgParams)
+            if isValidAndNotEmpty(m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary)
+                blurhash = m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary[m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary]
+                if get_user_setting("ui.design.renderblurhashes") = "true" and isValidAndNotEmpty(blurhash)
+                    timer = CreateObject("roTimeSpan")
+                    m.top.posterBlurHashUrl = renderFakeBlurhash(blurhash, imgParams.maxWidth, imgParams.maxHeight)
+                    print "Took " + Str(timer.totalMilliseconds()) + " milliseconds to render a blurhash in PhotoData."
+                end if
+            end if
         else if m.top.json.BackdropImageTags[0] <> invalid
             imgParams = { "maxHeight": 440, "Tag": m.top.json.BackdropImageTags[0] }
             m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Backdrop", imgParams)
diff --git a/components/data/ScheduleProgramData.bs b/components/data/ScheduleProgramData.bs
index c27126208..0b70e4fcb 100644
--- a/components/data/ScheduleProgramData.bs
+++ b/components/data/ScheduleProgramData.bs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import "pkg:/source/api/Image.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/api/baserequest.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/utils/config.bs"
+import "pkg:/source/utils/fakeBlurhash.bs"
 
 sub setFields()
     json = m.top.json
@@ -42,6 +43,14 @@ sub setPoster()
         if m.top.json.ImageTags <> invalid and m.top.json.ImageTags.Thumb <> invalid
             imgParams = { "maxHeight": 500, "maxWidth": 500, "Tag": m.top.json.ImageTags.Thumb }
             m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Thumb", imgParams)
+            if isValidAndNotEmpty(m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary)
+                blurhash = m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary[m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary]
+                if get_user_setting("ui.design.renderblurhashes") = "true" and isValidAndNotEmpty(blurhash)
+                    timer = CreateObject("roTimeSpan")
+                    m.top.posterBlurHashUrl = renderFakeBlurhash(blurhash, imgParams.maxWidth, imgParams.maxHeight)
+                    print "Took " + Str(timer.totalMilliseconds()) + " milliseconds to render a blurhash in ScheduleProgramData."
+                end if
+            end if
         end if
     end if
 end sub
diff --git a/components/data/SeriesData.bs b/components/data/SeriesData.bs
index f3671f381..74f3a484e 100644
--- a/components/data/SeriesData.bs
+++ b/components/data/SeriesData.bs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import "pkg:/source/api/Image.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/api/baserequest.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/utils/config.bs"
+import "pkg:/source/utils/fakeBlurhash.bs"
 
 sub setFields()
     json = m.top.json
@@ -38,6 +39,14 @@ sub setPoster()
 
             imgParams = { "maxHeight": 440, "maxWidth": 295, "Tag": m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary }
             m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Primary", imgParams)
+            if isValidAndNotEmpty(m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary)
+                blurhash = m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary[m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary]
+                if get_user_setting("ui.design.renderblurhashes") = "true" and isValidAndNotEmpty(blurhash)
+                    timer = CreateObject("roTimeSpan")
+                    m.top.posterBlurHashUrl = renderFakeBlurhash(blurhash, imgParams.maxWidth, imgParams.maxHeight)
+                    print "Took " + Str(timer.totalMilliseconds()) + " milliseconds to render a blurhash in SeriesData."
+                end if
+            end if
         else if m.top.json.BackdropImageTags <> invalid
             imgParams = { "maxHeight": 440, "Tag": m.top.json.BackdropImageTags[0] }
             m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Backdrop", imgParams)
diff --git a/components/data/TVEpisode.bs b/components/data/TVEpisode.bs
index 6c0542c0c..126d24155 100644
--- a/components/data/TVEpisode.bs
+++ b/components/data/TVEpisode.bs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import "pkg:/source/api/Image.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/api/baserequest.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/utils/config.bs"
+import "pkg:/source/utils/fakeBlurhash.bs"
 
 sub setFields()
     json = m.top.json
@@ -21,5 +22,13 @@ sub setPoster()
     else if m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary <> invalid
         imgParams = { "maxHeight": 440, "maxWidth": 295 }
         m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Primary", imgParams)
+        if isValidAndNotEmpty(m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary)
+            blurhash = m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary[m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary]
+            if get_user_setting("ui.design.renderblurhashes") = "true" and isValidAndNotEmpty(blurhash)
+                timer = CreateObject("roTimeSpan")
+                m.top.posterBlurHashUrl = renderFakeBlurhash(blurhash, imgParams.maxWidth, imgParams.maxHeight)
+                print "Took " + Str(timer.totalMilliseconds()) + " milliseconds to render a blurhash in TVEpisode.bs."
+            end if
+        end if
     end if
 end sub
diff --git a/components/data/VideoData.bs b/components/data/VideoData.bs
index 1a7654035..3b07822a6 100644
--- a/components/data/VideoData.bs
+++ b/components/data/VideoData.bs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import "pkg:/source/api/Image.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/api/baserequest.bs"
 import "pkg:/source/utils/config.bs"
+import "pkg:/source/utils/fakeBlurhash.bs"
 
 sub setFields()
     json = m.top.json
@@ -21,5 +22,13 @@ sub setPoster()
     else if m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary <> invalid
         imgParams = { "maxHeight": 440, "maxWidth": 295, "Tag": m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary }
         m.top.posterURL = ImageURL(m.top.json.id, "Primary", imgParams)
+        if isValidAndNotEmpty(m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary)
+            blurhash = m.top.json.ImageBlurHashes.Primary[m.top.json.ImageTags.Primary]
+            if get_user_setting("ui.design.renderblurhashes") = "true" and isValidAndNotEmpty(blurhash)
+                timer = CreateObject("roTimeSpan")
+                m.top.posterBlurHashUrl = renderFakeBlurhash(blurhash, imgParams.maxWidth, imgParams.maxHeight)
+                print "Took " + Str(timer.totalMilliseconds()) + " milliseconds to render a blurhash in VideoData."
+            end if
+        end if
     end if
 end sub
diff --git a/settings/settings.json b/settings/settings.json
index 9c33a6b01..1d6da3cf0 100644
--- a/settings/settings.json
+++ b/settings/settings.json
@@ -218,6 +218,13 @@
                         "type": "integer",
                         "default": "365"
                     },
+                    {
+                        "title": "Render blurhashes",
+                        "description": "Use an EXPERIMENTAL algorithm to render image blurhashes. This may slow down page loading and cause the app the crash.",
+                        "settingName": "ui.design.renderblurhashes",
+                        "type": "bool",
+                        "default": "false"
+                    },
                     {
                         "title": "Show What's New Popup",
                         "description": "Show What's New popup when Jellyfin is updated to a new version.",
diff --git a/source/utils/fakeBlurhash.bs b/source/utils/fakeBlurhash.bs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6b442136e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/source/utils/fakeBlurhash.bs
@@ -0,0 +1,182 @@
+' an implementation of the fake-blurhash decoding algorithm by Austin Crandall
+' https://github.com/sevenrats/fake-blurhash-python
+' based on the implementation in Brightscript by Neil Burrows
+' of Dag Agren's original specification https://github.com/woltapp/blurhash
+
+import "pkg:/source/utils/config.bs"
+import "pkg:/source/utils/librokudev.bs"
+
+' construct a bmp by hand in hex to avoid drawing
+function bitmapImageByteArray(numX as integer, numY as integer, pixels)
+    bmp = "424D4C000000000000001A0000000C000000"
+    bmp = bmp + rdINTtoHEX(numX) + "00" + rdINTtoHEX(numY) + "0001001800"
+    for r = 0 to numY - 1
+        row = ""
+        for c = 0 to numX - 1
+            row = pixels.RemoveTail() + row
+            ' to do: pad rows which are not 4 in length
+        end for
+        bmp = bmp + row
+    end for
+    bmp = bmp + "0000"
+    ba = CreateObject("roByteArray")
+    ba.fromhexstring(bmp)
+    return ba
+end function
+
+function decode83(str as string) as integer
+    digitCharacters = "0123456789ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz#$%*+,-.:;=?@[]^_{|}~"
+    value = 0
+    for i = 0 to len(str) - 1
+        c = Mid(str, i + 1, 1)
+        digit = Instr(0, digitCharacters, c) - 1
+        value = value * 83 + digit
+    end for
+
+    return value
+
+end function
+
+function isBlurhashValid(blurhash as string) as boolean
+    if blurhash = invalid or len(blurhash) < 6
+        print "The blurhash string must be at least 6 characters"
+        return false
+    end if
+    sizeFlag = decode83(Mid(blurhash, 0, 1))
+    numY = Fix(sizeFlag / 9) + 1
+    numX = (sizeFlag mod 9) + 1
+    if len(blurhash) <> 4 + 2 * numX * numY
+        print "blurhash length mismatch: length is " + Str(len(blurhash)) + " but it should be " + Str(4 + 2 * numX * numY)
+        return false
+    end if
+    return true
+end function
+
+function sRGBToLinear(value as float)
+    v = value / 255
+
+    if v <= 0.04045
+        return v / 12.92
+    else
+        return ((v + 0.055) / 1.055) ^ 2.4
+    end if
+end function
+
+function decodeDC(value as integer)
+    intR = value >> 16
+    intG = (value >> 8) and 255
+    intB = value and 255
+
+    return [sRGBToLinear(intR), sRGBToLinear(intG), sRGBToLinear(intB)]
+
+end function
+
+function decodeAC(value as float, maximumValue as float)
+    quantR = Fix(value / (19 * 19))
+    quantG = Fix(value / 19) mod 19
+    quantB = value mod 19
+
+    rgb = [
+        signPow((quantR - 9) / 9, 2.0) * maximumValue,
+        signPow((quantG - 9) / 9, 2.0) * maximumValue,
+        signPow((quantB - 9) / 9, 2.0) * maximumValue
+    ]
+    return rgb
+end function
+
+
+function signPow(val as float, exp as float)
+
+    result = Abs(val)
+    for i = 1 to exp step 1
+        result = result * val
+    end for
+
+    return Sgn(val) * val ^ exp
+
+end function
+
+function linearTosRGB(value as float)
+
+    v = value
+
+    if value < 0
+        v = 0
+    else if value > 1
+        v = 1
+    end if
+
+    if v <= 0.0031308
+        return rdINTtoHEX(Cint(v * 12.92 * 255 + 0.5))
+    else
+        return rdINTtoHEX(Cint((1.055 * (v ^ (1 / 2.4)) - 0.055) * 255 + 0.5))
+    end if
+end function
+
+' this function takes a blurhash, dimensions in terms of elements,
+' renders the blurhash using the fake-blurhash decoding algorithm
+' then returns a filesystem uri pointing at the file
+' the images in the fs are named with a hash of the blurhash string
+' so that items which already exist are not rendered twice
+function renderFakeBlurhash(blurhash as string, width as integer, height as integer, punch = 1 as float)
+    ' determine the file name
+    ' create the hasher and the bytestring for the hasher
+    blurhashByteArray = CreateObject("roByteArray")
+    blurhashByteArray.FromAsciiString(blurhash)
+    digest = CreateObject("roEVPDigest")
+    digest.Setup("md5")
+    digest.Update(blurhashByteArray)
+    filename = digest.Final()
+    localFileSystem = CreateObject("roFileSystem")
+    if localFileSystem.Exists("tmp://" + filename + ".bmp")
+        return "tmp://" + filename + ".bmp"
+    end if
+    ' doesn't exist in fs. render it.
+    if isBlurhashValid(blurhash) = false then return invalid
+    sizeFlag = decode83(Mid(blurhash, 1, 1))
+    numY = Fix(sizeFlag / 9) + 1
+    numX = (sizeFlag mod 9) + 1
+    quantisedMaximumValue = decode83(Mid(blurhash, 2, 1))
+    maximumValue = (quantisedMaximumValue + 1) / 166
+    colors = []
+    colorsLength = numX * numY
+    for i = 0 to colorsLength - 1
+        if i = 0
+            value = decode83(Mid(blurhash, 3, 4))
+            colors[i] = decodeDC(value)
+        else
+            value = decode83(Mid(blurhash, 5 + i * 2, 2))
+            colors[i] = decodeAC(value, maximumValue * punch)
+        end if
+    end for
+    pixels = CreateObject("roList")
+    for i = 1 to numX * numY
+        r = 0
+        g = 0
+        b = 0
+        row = cint(i / numX)
+        if i mod numX <> 0
+            column = i mod numX
+        else
+            column = numX
+        end if
+        row_height = height / numY
+        column_width = width / numX
+        x = (column_width / 2) + (column_width * (column - 1))
+        y = (row_height / 2) + (row_height * (row - 1))
+        for j = 0 to numY - 1
+            for n = 0 to numX - 1
+                basis = cos((3.14159265 * x * n) / width) * cos((3.14159265 * y * j) / height)
+                color = colors[n + j * numX]
+                r = r + color[0] * basis
+                g = g + color[1] * basis
+                b = b + color[2] * basis
+            end for
+        end for
+        pixel = linearTosRGB(b) + linearTosRGB(g) + linearTosRGB(r) ' our bitmap format wants bgr
+        pixels.push(pixel)
+    end for
+    ba = bitmapImageByteArray(numX, numY, pixels)
+    ba.WriteFile("tmp://" + filename + ".bmp")
+    return "tmp://" + filename + ".bmp"
+end function
diff --git a/source/utils/librokudev.bs b/source/utils/librokudev.bs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5c8e008ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/source/utils/librokudev.bs
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+'The functions in this file are taken from the librokudev library available
+'at https://github.com/sumitk/librokudev under the terms of its license,
+'available at https://github.com/sumitk/librokudev/blob/master/LICENSE,
+'which, at the time of writing, is as follows:
+
+'Copyright (c) 2010, GandK Labs.  All rights reserved.
+
+'Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
+'modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
+'    * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
+'      notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
+'    * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
+'      notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
+'      documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
+'    * Neither the GandK Labs name, the libRokuDev name, nor the
+'      names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products
+'      derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
+
+'THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND
+'ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
+'WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
+'DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL GANDK LABS BE LIABLE FOR ANY
+'DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
+'(INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
+'LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND
+'ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
+'(INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
+'SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
+
+function rdRightShift(num as integer, count = 1 as integer) as integer
+    mult = 2 ^ count
+    summand = 1
+    total = 0
+    for i = count to 31
+        if num and summand * mult
+            total = total + summand
+        end if
+        summand = summand * 2
+    end for
+    return total
+end function
+
+function rdINTtoHEX(num as integer) as object
+    ba = CreateObject("roByteArray")
+    ba.setresize(4, false)
+    ba[0] = rdRightShift(num, 24)
+    ba[1] = rdRightShift(num, 16)
+    ba[2] = rdRightShift(num, 8)
+    ba[3] = num ' truncates
+    return ba.toHexString().Right(2)
+end function